New compliance checks target businesses denying workers earned leave
Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration is moving aggressively to enforce New York City’s expanded paid time off protections, signaling that worker rights violations will face consequences. On February 20, the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection announced a new compliance strategy targeting employers who prevent workers from using earned leave. The enforcement marks a shift toward active investigation and penalties, rather than passive education. The city’s Protected Time Off Law, recently expanded and rechristened under Mamdani, now guarantees private sector workers thirty-two hours of unpaid leave annually plus forty hours of minimum paid time off per year. The expansion takes effect February 22, 2026. Yet enforcement remains inconsistent. The DCWP discovered that approximately half of private sector workers nationwide never use any paid time off during a calendar year. This pattern suggests systematic employer pressure preventing workers from exercising their rights.
The New Compliance Standard: 50 Percent Utilization as Red Flag
DCWP Policy Director Elizabeth Wagoner announced the agency will flag employers showing less than 50 percent paid time off usage among their workforce as potential violators. When fewer than half of employees use earned leave, the agency presumes “systemic” violations are occurring. This shifts burden of proof: employers must demonstrate they did not discourage leave usage. Previously, workers alone bore responsibility for proving illegal retaliation. The new standard recognizes that workers fear retaliation, often invisible and undocumented. A delivery driver might avoid sick days because a manager creates scheduling difficulties for those who take leave. A restaurant worker might skip medical appointments rather than risk a shift supervisor’s disapproval. These decisions happen without direct threats, making them difficult to prove.
What Employers Must Do to Comply
Employers covered under the law have until February 22 to update policies and systems. The law applies differently based on company size. Employers with one hundred or more workers must provide fifty-six hours of paid safe and sick leave annually. Those with five to ninety-nine employees must provide forty hours. Employers with four or fewer workers and net income exceeding one million dollars must provide forty hours of paid leave. Additionally, all employers must provide twenty hours of paid prenatal leave per fifty-two week period, separate from other leave categories.
New Enforcement Mechanisms and Penalties
The DCWP will begin investigations in businesses showing utilization rates below fifty percent. Investigations will focus on management practices, employee interviews, and policy documentation. Violations carry penalties ranging from six hundred dollars to one thousand dollars per violation, per employee. A company systematically denying leave to one hundred employees could face damages exceeding one hundred thousand dollars. This enforcement level signals serious commitment to worker protection beyond rhetoric. The law includes a private right of action, meaning workers can file lawsuits against employers independently of government action. Class action suits against major employers are likely as awareness spreads.
Why Half of Workers Skip Earned Leave: The Fear Factor
Research from the CDC and occupational health experts explains the utilization gap. Workers fear retaliation, even when it is technically illegal. They worry about being passed over for promotions, receiving negative performance reviews, or facing scheduling difficulties. These fears are often rational. Studies show workers taking extended leave, even unpaid leave, receive lower performance ratings than equally productive colleagues who don’t use leave. The Adams administration tracked these patterns previously but took limited enforcement action. The Mamdani administration appears committed to a different approach: making examples of scofflaw employers to deter others from similar practices.
The Broader Worker Rights Agenda
Mayor Mamdani rode to office on a platform centered on working-class economic power. His administration has prioritized union engagement, particularly with DC 37, the city’s largest public sector union representing fifty-five thousand workers. The paid time off enforcement represents one element of a larger worker rights agenda. The administration has also proposed raising the minimum wage to thirty dollars per hour by 2030, a nearly two-fold increase from current rates. Universal childcare, another campaign promise, would remove barriers to workforce participation. Free public transit and affordable housing would further reduce worker expenses.
What Workers and Employers Should Know Now
The February 22 effective date arrives in two days from this article’s publication. Workers should review their company’s written leave policy. If the policy conflicts with the law, contact the DCWP. Employers should audit their payroll systems to ensure compliance. If documentation is inadequate, rebuild it immediately. The DCWP provides guidance through its website, but private employment counsel should review company policies for compliance gaps.
The Longer Struggle: Making Paid Leave Actually Paid
One critical limitation: the law requires thirty-two hours of unpaid leave as a separate entitlement. This means workers earn leave but cannot afford to use it. A delivery worker earning twenty dollars per hour loses 640 dollars in income by taking unpaid leave. This creates perverse incentives where compliant employers provide leave workers cannot afford to use. Progressive advocates argue the law should require all thirty-two hours to be paid. Such a change would require state legislative action and would increase employer costs substantially. The Mamdani administration has not yet proposed this change, though it remains possible during budget negotiations. Refer to the NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection for official guidance. See DCWP compliance resources for employer and worker guidance documents.
